Kidney Stones

Well, here's the sorta good news from my prospective, I had just one bout of kidney stones and that was it. They've never made a repeat appearance. I know some people are more prone to them but I hope you have this one bout and once it's reared it's head it will stay away for good.

kathy

SRF,
So sorry your christmas was destroyed with pain...hopefully they will pass quickly....I had only one bout like Kathy about 15 yrs post pouch creation...like you, same pain...worst that I have ever felt and then an ambulance to the nearest ER...the first question the ER doc asked was where I lived...when I told him he confirmed kidney stones even before the xrays...apparently certain regions have harder water than others and if you are a heavy water drinker then you are also more prone...his advice (after I passed them) was to stop drinking strait tap water, only filtered water...no mineral water either...So, 15+ yrs later I still only drink filtered water and avoid all of those fancy, expensive bottled waters too....I also drink gallons of herb teas, coffee etc but only using the filtered water (even in my fridge ).
I do not know if we are more likely to have them or not but we drink more water than most so proportionately it is possible...
Hang in there
Sharon
Sharon

I had one bout also but mine were due to too much protein in my diet. I had upped my protein intake to recover faster from surgery. I changed my diet back to normal and have not had a problem since. Make sure they test the stones to tell you what is the probable cause.

I've had a few bouts with it, both before and after surgery............fun!

All you can do is drink, drink, drink water.

Remember that SOME people are more prone to creating these fun things than others, just because we have a pouch doesn't necessarily make us more susceptible. I've not seen any conclusive evidence to show that any ways......

All you can do is drink plenty of water.

Wish there was some magical formula.

Thanks for the kind words everybody.

I had another bout late last night that almost sent me back again
to the ER. Then it just stopped. Feel like I've been run over by
a truck today. I put a call into the Urologist and am waiting to
hear if he can see me on an emergency basis.

Yuck! Hope things get resolved for you soon. I've never had stones, but other kidney issues, and that pain can bring you to your knees. Keep your chin up!

I have had 3 bouts with kidney stones since having my colon removed 6 years ago..all required hospitalization and IV pain control, but none required surgery. The last one, I had an underlying UTI, the infection went all through my body...got very sick from that one.

Once your doctor knows what the stones are made of (mainly calcium vs. uric acid) it will be clearer how best to reduce the chances of a recurrence.

I saw the Urologist this morning. The good news is he says all of these
stones appear to be small enough to pass without any ultrasound/surgery.

The bad news is just how long is it going to take to do it?

He gave me prescriptions for Flowmax and lot's of vicodin and also gave
me a fancy little screen to use to catch the stone when it comes. That
will be the key to what course of treatment comes next. He also said
maybe a 24 hour sampling and volume of urine to see if I've got any
absorbtion issues.

Still counting the minutes until I pass this stone. It has moved but
it stops and waits for half a day or more before it starts again.

I've been going through more pain meds than for both of my Jpouch
surgeries combined.

That sorta really sucks.

kathy

I had my surgery a little over 5 years ago and I have had more than 15 kidney stones. A few months before I had surgery I was told I had about 8 stones between my two kidneys and it is common for UC or Crohns patients to get stones when they are on steroids. I had been on high doses of steroids for over 5 years before I had surgery. It wasn't until I was about 4 months out from my first surgery that I had to deal with the first attack of the kidney stone that was about 7mm. I have gone to the ER 2 times with stones that were bigger than 7mm but have suffered through about 18 others at home because I would rather be at home than in the hospital any day! My advice is to drink, drink, drink! there is no way to avoid them but we can flush them!!!!!!

srf1,

Yup, that is what I was told too since we cannot absorb liquid. Then because of that, I crave salt but have to watch that too. I had a 3 step surgery in 1993-1994 then a major bowel obstruction which should have killed me as I lost 32 inches of small bowel due to gangrene.

I get kidney stones quite frequently. Four times I had to have them blasted out using the Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL) for Kidney Stones. That is because these stones were more than an inch in diameter.
No way that I can pass these suckers out.

Carol Burnett once said that for a man to experience child birth and know what the pain feels like, he would have to bring is lower lip over his head. Well, to have a bowel obstruction is worse and its no fun passing kidney stones out either.

This past October and November, I had that done twice to blast it out on my right kidney and still it did not crush it enough. In February, they are going to do the left kidney.
You will have to keep close contact with a urologist from now on. I asked my doctor how long will I continue to pass stones and he said as long as I live.

My diet is one that is also against me. If I follow a diet for my gut and I do not want to get pouchitis, I have to eat one way but the things I eat are not good for people with kidney stones. If I follow a diet for kidney stones, they are not good for my stomach. So, I had to pick my poison and chose to have kidney stones.

For example, I need more protien in my diet but that is not good for kidney stones.

Drinking lots of water is a must and cranberry juice and lemonaide is good for those with kidney stones.

Magnesium helps prevent calcium from combining with oxalate, which is the most common type of kidney stone.

Listed below is what I found on a website but I cannot have any of it because none of these foods agree with me due to my pouch and I am supposed to be a low-residue diet.

Green leafy vegetables like spinach and Swiss chard are excellent sources of magnesium, and one of the simplest ways to make sure you're consuming enough of these is by juicing your vegetables. Vegetable juice is an excellent source of magnesium, as are some beans, nuts and seeds, like almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds. Avocadoes are also a good source. However, surveys suggest that many Americans are not getting enough magnesium in their diets.


Rocket

Thanks for the info Rocket!

Still waiting to pass the one I've been dealing with. The sucker
will move for a day then takes time off for about
a week. The xrays and CT scans show that it's moved significantly
though over the past few weeks. Hopefully
not much longer till it's out.

My Urologist says the remaining two in my right kidney are
very, very small. They only show up on the CT scan and hopefully
won't be a problem to pass.